Re: My First Glass of Pappy 23 Year Old

Interesting opinions on high priced PVW. I was concerned the hype was affecting my taste buds so I let a coue of Bourbon lovers who had never had any age PVW try some without even hinting at what it was and both said it was the best bourbon they've ever tried. So as usual it's all in the taste buds of the beholder.

Re: My First Glass of Pappy 23 Year Old

Originally Posted by z327

Interesting opinions on high priced PVW. I was concerned the hype was affecting my taste buds so I let a coue of Bourbon lovers who had never had any age PVW try some without even hinting at what it was and both said it was the best bourbon they've ever tried. So as usual it's all in the taste buds of the beholder.

This is the fair test. You must be a pretty good friend to share such a highly regarded pour with others. Just think, they thought it was the best bourbon that they ever tried. Whether others agree or not is irrelevant. It is what they thought. I enjoy sharing good experiences with others. You, my friend, are a true bourbonite! Happy pours!

Re: My First Glass of Pappy 23 Year Old

It is very well marketed, and the "limited supply" makes everyone assume it is the best stuff ever bottled. Only bottle I ever bought was a PVW20 in 2011, and while it was nice - I'll never spend that kind of coin on it again - too much other stuff that I like more for a whole lot less. Then again, I've also learned more about my taste (which lean towards the rye-side). But my expectations were that PVW would be near orgasmic, which is too much to expect from a whiskey

Gary (aka 'Country')=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough." - Mark Twain
"Because Whiskey Matters!" - David Perkins

Re: My First Glass of Pappy 23 Year Old

"Pappy Van Wankers".....That made me laugh. I have mixed feelings. Here's my perspective, I was a bourbon drinker from far too young an age but wasn't serious about it. Started with JB because well that was what my parents had. Moved onto MM in college and transitioned to KC and Bookers in the Navy. I regularly drank bourbon but also drank other stuff and usually only had a single bottle of Bourbon in the house (boy those days are long gone – my most recent inventory had over 40 bottles open and another 100+ on the shelves).

I bought my first bottles of Pappy on Black Friday 2011 - when my local store put them "on sale" Black Friday morning. I had never heard of Pappy and asked 'why the hubbub'?. My guys at the store just said people go crazy for it - I asked "is it worth it'. And their response was they didn't know they've never had it. So on a whim I went down to the store and happened to be 8th in line. When the store opened there were over 50 people in line. I got up the counter and there was one bottle of 12, one bottle of 20 and 3 bottles of 23 left. I bought the 12 for $56 and the 20 for $105. (Most I had ever spent on a bottle of anything).

I decided to open both of them up that evening with my neighbors – who didn’t know the prices. We tried the 12 neat and our verdict was boy that’s tasty. We tried the 20 and I was like wow – it really was a different beast. Needless to say that night is in my rear-view mirror by a long shot. I’ve since acquired quite a few more bottles through dumb luck. My most recent, and probably last bottle, was a 23 I bought a few weeks ago because I was asking about Stagg and WLW. The manager of a store I visit occasionally said ‘I don’t have any Stagg but I do have a Pappy 23 if you want that’? After picking up my jaw, I said sure if you don’t mind. Of course the price wasn’t $100 – it was $295. Gauging to be sure but it was there and they weren’t being too ridiculous.

Not sure what I’ll do with it. I haven’t ever flipped a bottle of anything but the silly prices sure do make one think about it. Although Bourbon prices are still ‘cheap’ compared to Malt whisky prices. I’m of mixed mind about it – it seems like the BTAC bottles are the new Pappy- as far as availability and unmet demand go. I do remember my first taste of WLW – wow that was something.

I’m still in the new toy phase of my whisky life in a lot of ways – in a very short period of time I’ve acquired a significant amount of whisky (Malt, Bourbon, and Rye) and have learned a lot. The monthly tastings I run have helped make it affordable and provided some structure. Now I’m buying stuff mostly because it is available, it is limited and I’ll want it in the future. Dusty hunting is mostly fruitless here in the NE – sure I get lucky here or there but I’ve been to most of the stores within 100 miles and bought what I wanted. Recently I’ve been slowing down my purchases and filling in gaps here or there but for the occasional windfall.
So I won’t begrudge the “Pappy Van Wankers”, after all you have to start somewhere.